Eurotopics.net

TV channels in Latvia will in future have to show 80 percent of their programmes in the official languages of the EU, while a maximum of 20 percent can be broadcast in Russian. In addition Russian-language channels are to be placed at the end of the menu from now on. With this move the parliament in Riga hopes to curb Russian propaganda. However, observers doubt that the amendment will do much good.

While most of Europe's internal borders are reopening, several EU countries have decided to maintain entry restrictions for travellers from Portugal on the grounds that the infection rate has recently risen to more than 20 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week. What does this mean for a country that depends on tourism?

The EU Parliament has once again criticised conflicts of interest in the case of Czech prime minister and multi-billionaire Andrej Babiš. It stresses that his former holding company Agrofert, with which he is still associated today, receives more EU subsidies than any other in the Czech Republic. Anyone who makes political decisions on the allocation of funds should not profit from them as an entrepreneur, it argues. Commentators from the Czech Republic and other countries examine the issue.

In Belarus, members of the opposition will for the first time have the chance to run against the country's long-ruling President Alexander Lukashenko in presidential elections slated for 8 August. But after the government arrested two rivals, citizens took to the streets in several cities on the weekend, protesting with human chains and signatures for the opposing candidates. The state reacted with arrests. Will the situation escalate?

In Serbia's parliamentary elections President Aleksandar Vučić's conservative SNS has consolidated its dominant position, garnering around 63 percent of the vote. It is now likely to increase its representation in parliament from 131 of the 250 seats to 189. The SNS has been in power since 2012 and has seen its popularity rise during the coronavirus crisis. What does the outcome mean for the Balkan state and its leader?

The total number of new coronavirus infections continues to decline in Europe - although easing measures have been reversed in several countries after the key figures once again started to rise. Commentators take stock these weeks: what lessons has the pandemic taught Europe, and what do we still need to learn?